Entries by Sarah Wayne Callies

Atlanta, Georgia - A few days before I left for Jordan and Iraq, an old friend rang me up. He was emotional, begging me to be safe 'over there.' I gave him every assurance I could think of, but in the end he hung up as agitated as he'd called....

Atlanta, Georgia -- Did I ever tell you about my favorite boss? He was born in a refugee camp. His mother fled the Soviets in Budapest, escaping to Yugoslavia where she met a man in a camp there. The couple sought asylum in France where their baby was born in...

Mafraq, Jordan -- For some strange reason they made me think of the Supreme Court Justices, sitting in a row against the wall wearing their black abaya and grim faces. We shook hands and I sat beside one of the translators (both of whom -- this time -- were women)....

I have been anticipating and dreading the Domiz camp women's meeting for weeks. It was from Domiz camp that I heard the reports of sexual violence I wrote about in my first blog. Two days ago we finally sat down to talk together --...

Domiz Camp, Iraq -- Darfur got George Clooney. Haiti got Sean Penn. Cambodia got Angelina Jolie. The Syrian Kurds got me, Sarah Wayne Callies. That is the simplest and most direct metric I know to convey how bad it is for them right now. Other major humanitarian disasters have garnered...

I'm ashamed to admit how afraid I am to go to the Middle East. I'm not afraid of being a half day's walk from Syria's warzone -- I'm not afraid for my safety. I am afraid of the weight of the pain I will witness. Afraid it will drag me...